KEY POINTS:
Police say it is unacceptable that more than half of the taxis stopped in a weekend drink-driving and traffic sting were not up to standard, and that one in five was ordered off the road with safety defects.
The blitz, jointly run by police and Land Transport New
Zealand, saw 163 out of 295 taxi drivers fined for breaching commercial requirements.
Operation 'Safer Auckland 5' saw 84 drink-drivers caught, with one more than three times over the legal limit.
Auckland City road policing manager Inspector Heather Wells said that finding faults with more than half of the taxis stopped was unacceptable.
Land Transport New Zealand spokesman Andy Knackstedt also expressed disappointment over the operation's results. However, of 163 non-compliant cabs, 100 were for issues which did not pose a direct public safety risk, he said.
The operation involved a taxi enforcement team which began work in March, checking the vehicles and drivers' personal endorsements, such as logbooks and area knowledge certificates, Mr Knackstedt said.
Many breaches were of new rules which came into place on October 1 and included the display of a taxi's fare schedule, which now had to be printed outside both doors.
Mr Knackstedt said the weekend's results were "encouraging" following a similar sting in September, when 52 cars were ordered off the road, with a higher rate of more serious defects.
The 63 cars ordered off the road would have to pass a certificate of fitness before operating as taxis again, but some could still be used as private vehicles.
Drivers were fined between $200 and $1200 for each offence.
"Obviously there's still a lot of room for improvement and that's the role of the taxi enforcement team," Mr Knackstedt said. New Zealand Taxi Federation executive director Tim Reddish welcomed the recent stings, which he felt were long overdue. The federation had been asking for more stringent enforcement for many years because taxi operators in the country were growing "exponentially".
People needing a ride should choose large, well-known companies, which were more likely to carry out internal inspections, Mr Reddish said.
* Operation Safer Auckland 5 netted 19 drink-drivers aged under 20.
Police also arrested a couple who allegedly assaulted a female police officer who gave them a ride home after the taxi they were in was stopped.
Another driver who fled the Harbour Bridge checkpoint on foot was caught by police dogs and charged with being unlawfully on property, drink-driving and driving while disqualified. His vehicle was impounded.
